KR100898427B1 - Mouse device - Google Patents

Abstract

Mouse device of the present invention, the cylindrical cylinder held in the hand; A rod inserted into the cylinder to move in the longitudinal and circumferential directions of the cylinder; An optical sensor unit provided in any one of the cylinder and the rod; A controller configured to recognize coordinate movement information by processing a signal output from the optical sensor unit according to the relative movement of the rod with respect to the cylinder; Characterized in that it comprises a.

Description

Mouse device {MOUSE DEVICE}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mouse device, wherein a handheld mouse device enables a user to perform cursor coordinate input and menu selection and click functions regardless of a user's posture in a multimedia device such as a computer, a TV, a DVD player, a game machine, an IP TV, and the like. It is about.

As a conventional mouse device, various forms such as a ball mouse detecting a rotation amount of a ball and an optical mouse using an optical sensor have been developed.

For example, the optical mouse shown in FIG. 1 includes a base plate 4 having a positioning protrusion 2 on one side and a rectangular hole 3 in the center, and a rectangular hole 3 in the center of the base plate 4. One end is fixed to the lens 5 disposed above, the positioning protrusion 2 of the base plate 4, and the PCB 6 mounted on the lens 5 is electrically connected to the upper surface of the PCB 6, It consists of a light receiving sensor 7 and the light emitting LED 8 to be fixed, and a fixing clip 9 to prevent shaking of the PCB 6 due to shock vibration.

The light generated from the light emitting LEDs 8 enters the rectangular hole 3 in the center of the base plate 4 through the inclined surface of the lens 5 and then is reflected by the mouse pad 10 to the light receiving sensor 7. The focus was configured to focus.

The image formed on the light receiving sensor 7 is analyzed by the image acquisition unit of the PCB 6 to detect the movement of the mouse. The motion information of the mouse obtained by the image acquisition unit is transmitted to the computer via a wired or wireless interface.

However, the optical mouse has a mechanical tolerance in its manufacture and environmental factors generated during use, so that the focal length of the mouse pad 10 and the light receiving sensor 7 is out of a predetermined range (that is, the surface of the mouse pad is too far or too far). Close to), due to the error of the optical focus toward the light receiving sensor 7, the image formed on the light receiving sensor 7 is blurred, so there is a problem that the operation of the mouse is temporarily stopped because the motion vector is not found. .

In addition, the tolerance of the optical focus is determined by the depth of focus of the lens or the mouse motion detection algorithm of the image acquisition unit of the PCB (6). However, in order to reduce the error, the precision processing of optical mouse components is required, which increases the manufacturing cost. There was a problem.

On the other hand, when there is an object such as transparent glass on the surface on which the mouse is placed, the mouse moves out of the depth of focus range of the optical mouse.

That is, when using a conventional optical mouse, the distance between the mouse pad and the optical mouse is limited within a certain range, or there is a limitation in that a transparent material such as glass cannot be used as the mouse pad.

This causes the user to be unable to use the optical mouse in any posture despite various multimedia environments.It is necessary to place the mouse pad made of a specific material such as a light reflection material on a flat surface and move the optical mouse only on it. Since there is a problem that can not provide a flexible use environment to the user at all, it is necessary to change the way of thinking about the use environment of the optical mouse device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described necessity, and is not limited to the material and characteristics of the mouse pad, and is not limited by the focal length of the optical mouse device with respect to the mouse pad, and the user of the optical mouse device is independent of the type of multimedia device. It is to provide an innovative hands-held type mouse device that can provide accurate coordinate input even if the user takes an arbitrary posture.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned above may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. There will be.

Mouse device of the present invention, the cylindrical cylinder held in the hand; A rod inserted into the cylinder to move in the longitudinal and circumferential directions of the cylinder; An optical sensor unit provided in any one of the cylinder and the rod; A controller configured to recognize coordinate movement information by processing a signal output from the optical sensor unit according to the relative movement of the rod with respect to the cylinder; Characterized in that it comprises a.

In one embodiment, an opening is formed in the cylinder, and the rod operation part protruding in the circumferential direction of the rod is moved in the longitudinal direction and the circumferential direction of the cylinder in the opening region to adjust the relative movement of the rod with respect to the cylinder. do.

In one embodiment, the mouse device includes a button unit including at least one of a remote control button, a click button, a laser pointer, and an accelerometer; It further includes.

In one embodiment, the mouse device, restoring means for applying a restoring force by the magnetic force or elastic force to the rod; It includes more.

In one embodiment, the control unit, the power supply unit for supplying power to the optical sensor unit, the motion recognition unit for generating the coordinate movement information by processing the signal output from the optical sensor unit, and the coordinate movement information external An interface unit for transmitting to the device is provided.

In one embodiment, the motion recognition unit generates the coordinate movement information by comparing the moving speed and the threshold value of the rod with respect to the cylinder.

According to the mouse device of the present invention, since the rod corresponding to the conventional mouse device slides while facing the cylinder and the circumference of the mouse pad corresponding to the conventional mouse pad, the coordinate movement information is recognized. Therefore, the problem of not recognizing the movement of the mouse is improved, and the problem of using the mouse device, which is limited by the focal length of the optical mouse device with respect to the mouse pad as in the prior art, does not occur, and the user is lying on or away from the desk. Even if the device is operated in a posture, the desired coordinate movement information can be generated by simply holding the hands-held mouse device of the present invention in a hand and moving the rod relative to the cylinder. Possible flexi Hands held a groundbreaking type (hands held type) mouse devices that can provide the environment is provided.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this process, the size or shape of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of description. In addition, terms that are specifically defined in consideration of the configuration and operation of the present invention may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user or operator. Definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

2 to 5 are perspective views showing various embodiments of the hands-held mouse device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the mouse device of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view thereof, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the detailed structure of the mouse device from the cutting surface AA 'of FIG. 3 to the cutting surface BB' portion, and FIG. It is a top view which shows the shape of the opening of this. 2 to 5 together, the configuration and operation of the hands-held mouse device of the present invention will be described.

In the hands-held type mouse device of the present invention, the cylinder 200 corresponding to the conventional mouse pad maintains a contact or facing state with the rod 100 corresponding to the conventional mouse device and moves relative to each other to generate coordinate movement information. do. Therefore, even if the user uses the mouse device of the present invention in any posture, the rod 100 moves the coordinates irrespective of the use position or posture by simply moving the inserted cylinder 200 in the hand and relatively moving each other. There is an advantage that the information can be generated flexibly.

As a configuration for this, the optical sensor unit 300 and the control unit 400 is provided on any one of the rod 100 and the cylinder 200. As shown, the optical sensor unit 300 and the control unit 400 are provided in the cylinder 200. The light sensor unit 300 includes a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and acquires motion information of light when the light emitted from the light emitting unit is reflected from the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder 200 and obtained by the light receiving unit. Since the rod 100 and the cylinder 200 are spaced or contacted to maintain the optical focus of the optical sensor unit 300 at all times, the optical sensor unit 300 may be moved when the rod 100 moves in any position. Outputs the corresponding optical signal. The light reflected from the inner wall of the cylinder 200 and collected by the light receiver includes image pattern information of the inner wall of the cylinder 200, and the controller 400 calculates coordinate movement information through pattern analysis of the collected image.

The controller 400 may include a power supply unit (see FIG. 6 and 410) for supplying power to the optical sensor unit 300, and a motion recognition unit (see FIG. 6) to recognize coordinate movement information based on motion information of light received from the light receiving unit. 420 and an interface unit (see FIG. 6, 430) for transmitting the coordinate movement information to the external device 500 by wireless or wired. The external device 500 is a generic name of a multimedia device such as a computer, a TV, a DVD player, a game machine, an IP TV, and the like.

That is, the conventional mouse device recognizes coordinate movement information by moving the mouse device on a mouse pad having a rectangular planar shape. In contrast, in the mouse device of the present invention, when the relative movement surfaces of the rod 100 and the cylinder 200 are unfolded, the outer circumferential surface of the rod 100 corresponds to the horizontal direction of the conventional mouse pad and the rod 100 is in the longitudinal direction. Since the axis corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the conventional mouse pad, it has a similar relationship in which the contact planes of the conventional mouse pad and the mouse device are implemented in a circumferential shape.

In addition, the present invention by holding the cylinder 200 in one hand and operating the rod operation unit 105 in the opening 205 region of the cylinder 200, as if operating with a conventional mouse pad and the mouse device in one hand. Provided with exactly the same coordinate movement information, there is a feature that the mouse pad and the mouse device do not have to leave at all. The shape of the opening 205 may be various shapes such as a rectangle or a circle as shown in FIG. 5.

As described above, the present invention provides a breakthrough operation feeling as a hands-held type mouse device as compared to the case of using a conventional mouse pad and a mouse device in one hand. Thus, while providing the ergonomic novelty that the mouse pad and the mouse device can be used in one hand, the user convenience and intuitiveness of the coordinate movement are increased, and the appearance design of the device is differentiated to improve the merchandise while moving in any axial direction. It provides a new level of user interface device that can be intuitively identified. In addition, since the rod operation unit 105 can be operated with only one finger, it is very advantageous for miniaturization for a portable device.

6 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the mouse device of the present invention. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the mouse device of the present invention. 6 and 7, the operation of the hands-held mouse device of the present invention will be described in detail.

Since the operation of the optical sensor unit 300 has already been described above with reference to FIG. 1, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are not shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 to avoid duplication of description. When the rod 100 is relatively moved with respect to the cylinder 200, when the light emitted from the light emitting unit is reflected from the inner wall of the cylinder 200 and is focused on the light receiving unit, when the pattern of the collected light is analyzed, the inner wall of the cylinder 200 is analyzed. The pattern change of the scanned image can be captured.

The motion recognition unit 420 generates coordinate movement information by recognizing whether relative movement has occurred, a moving direction, and a moving speed through pattern analysis of light collected by the light receiving unit. The coordinate movement information generated by the gesture recognition unit 420 is converted into a digital signal through the interface unit 430 and then transmitted to the external device 500 by wireless or wired.

In this case, the button unit 450 may be further provided for menu selection or input of click information. Information input from the button unit 450 is also converted into a digital signal through the interface unit 430 and then transmitted to the external device 500 by wireless or wired.

The button unit 450 may include a remote control button 451 for inputting letters or numbers, TV channel conversion or volume control, a click button 452 for a click function of a conventional mouse device, a laser pointer 453 useful for presentation, At least one of the accelerometer 454 to obtain a movement acceleration in space, a movement speed in which it is integrated once, and a movement trajectory in which it is integrated again.

The process of obtaining coordinate movement information will be described in more detail. For example, when the external device 500 is a computer, the coordinate movement information of the optical sensor unit 300 with respect to all pixel coordinates of the computer monitor is referred to as' absolute coordinate movement information. ', The resolution of the computer monitor is assumed to be 1,000 pixels, and in the hands-held mouse device, the resolution is assumed to be 100 pixels when the load control unit 105 is moved from one end of the opening 205 to the other. When the optical sensor unit 300 is moved by 1 pixel, the cursor of the monitor must move 10 pixels before the coordinate movement information of the optical sensor unit 300 can be corresponded to the entire computer monitor.

Of course, such an embodiment is not impossible, but a countermeasure for a case in which the size of the movable span of the optical sensor unit 300 does not cover the entire pixel coordinate range of the computer monitor is required. For example, the operation of moving the rod 100 once and then returning to the position before the movement does not generate coordinate movement information, so that the rod 100 is repeatedly moved several times (10 times in the above example). Computer coordinates of the entire pixel coordinates can be corresponded to the movement information. Thus, the embodiment of the present invention for recognizing and processing the return operation is illustrated in FIG. 7.

Compared with the conventional mouse device, when the mouse device is returned to the position before the movement while the mouse device is spaced apart from the mouse pad so that light focus is not formed, the next mouse movement span is secured without the coordinate movement information. can do.

In contrast, referring to the embodiment of FIG. 7, the motion recognition unit detects whether a relative movement of the rod occurs (S10), and when the relative movement of the rod occurs, when the movement speed is less than the threshold value, the movement speed is smaller than the threshold value. Recognize it as a mouse movement and generate coordinate movement information (S20, S30, S40).

If the movement of the load is not sensed, of course, the coordinate movement information is not generated (S10 and S50). On the other hand, if the movement speed of the rod is greater than the threshold value, the motion recognition unit recognizes the return operation of the rod for returning to the initial position and is in the standby state without generating coordinate movement information (S50). For example, when the external device 500 is a computer, the cursor is not moved and maintains a fixed position during the load return operation.

That is, the motion recognition unit does not generate coordinate movement information by recognizing the return motion when the load moves faster than the threshold value, and when the load moves below the threshold value, the motion recognition unit recognizes the input motion for the user's cursor movement. Generate movement information. Therefore, even when the external device 500 is a computer as well as a large-screen IP TV, there is an advantage of generating 'absolute coordinate movement information' of cursor movement for the entire screen.

The present invention is not limited thereto, and an embodiment that operates in reverse to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is also possible. For example, the motion recognition unit does not generate coordinate movement information by recognizing a return motion when the load moves slowly below a threshold value, whereas generating a coordinate movement information by recognizing it as a cursor movement motion when the load moves faster than a threshold value. An embodiment is also possible. This embodiment has an advantage in that the user can not generate coordinate movement information when the user slowly moves the load by mistake without intention of moving the cursor.

On the other hand, by varying the embodiment shown in Figure 7 and the above-described embodiment can be derived more various variations. For example, if the rod moves too slowly below the first threshold or moves too fast beyond the second threshold, coordinate movement information is not generated, but above the first threshold and below the second threshold. It is also possible to generate the coordinate movement information only when moving at a certain range of speeds.

On the other hand, although the rod 100 is relatively movable with respect to the cylinder 200, it is preferable that a restoring means is provided for exerting a restoring force to restore the rod 100 toward the initial position. An embodiment of the restoring means is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

In the embodiment of the restoring means shown in FIG. 8, the rod 100 is restored to the initial position by the elastic force by interposing the elastic member 640 between the rod 100 and the cylinder 200. In the embodiment of the restoring means shown in FIG. 9, the magnet 100 and the yoke 620 are interposed between the rod 100 and the cylinder 200 so that the rod 100 is restored to an initial position by a magnetic force. In this case, by comparing the initial position approach speed of the rod 100 by the magnetic force or the elastic force with a threshold value it can be utilized to obtain the above-described 'absolute coordinate movement information'.

That is, the magnet 610 and the yoke 620 are disposed so that the magnetic force acts in the direction in which the rod 100 is to be restored to the initial position. In addition, by comparing the speed of restoring to the initial position when the hand force applied to the rod 100 is compared with the threshold value, it is possible to determine whether the return operation is performed and not generate coordinate movement information. The magnitude of the recovery speed can be adjusted by adjusting the magnetizing force of the magnet 610 or by adjusting the arrangement shape of the magnet 610 and the yoke 620. Similarly, the restoring force for acquiring 'absolute coordinate movement information' may be applied by using the elastic restoring force of the elastic member 640.

Although embodiments according to the present invention have been described above, these are merely exemplary, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent embodiments of the present invention are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the following claims.

1 is a side sectional view showing a main part of a conventional optical mouse device.

2 to 5 show various embodiments of the mouse device of the present invention.

6 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the mouse device of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the mouse device of the present invention.

8 and 9 show an embodiment of the restoration means of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100 ... rod 105 ... rod control panel

200 ... cylinder 205 ... opening

300 ... light sensor part 400 ... control part

410 Power supply unit 420 Motion recognition unit

430 Interface part 450 Button part

451 ... remote control button

452 ... click button

453 ... LASER pointer

454 Accelerometer

500 External device 610 Magnet

620 ... yoke 640 ... elastic member

Claims (6)

Cylindrical cylinder held in hand; A rod inserted into the cylinder to move in the longitudinal and circumferential directions of the cylinder; An optical sensor unit provided in any one of the cylinder and the rod; A controller configured to recognize coordinate movement information by processing a signal output from the optical sensor unit according to the relative movement of the rod with respect to the cylinder; Mouse device comprising a. The method of claim 1, The cylinder is formed with an opening, And a rod operating portion projecting in the circumferential direction to the rod is moved in the longitudinal direction and the circumferential direction of the cylinder in the opening region so that relative movement of the rod with respect to the cylinder is controlled. The method of claim 1, A button unit including at least one of a remote control button, a click button, a laser pointer, and an accelerometer; Mouse device further comprises. The method of claim 1, Restoring means for applying a restoring force by the magnetic force or the elastic force to the rod; Mouse device further comprises. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The control unit, A power supply unit supplying power to the optical sensor unit; A motion recognition unit processing the signal output from the optical sensor unit to generate the coordinate movement information; And an interface unit for transmitting the coordinate movement information to an external device. The method of claim 5, The motion recognition unit, And generating the coordinate movement information by comparing a threshold and a moving speed of the rod with respect to the cylinder.

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